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Lane Kiffin calls out non-call on final play of Ole Miss' loss to Miami

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra01/09/26SamraSource

Lane Kiffin may be readying LSU for the 2026 season, but he was still locked in on Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run. The former Rebels head coach was livid with the non-call that might’ve cost his former team a chance to play for a national title.

On the final play of the game, Miami defensive back Ethan O’Connor grabbed Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling’s jersey. Trinidad Chambliss’ pass still hit Stribling’s hand before hitting the ground, but no flag was thrown for defensive pass interference, and the game ended on a controversial note.

Evidently, Kiffin believes the officials blew it. His message was convincing as any, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to relay that he thought a flag should’ve been thrown. Check it out below.

Regardless, the Hurricanes are moving on, and Ole Miss has nothing to hang their head about. Kiffin still benefited big during the Rebels’ run, officially receiving a $500,000 payout from LSU.

That was the amount he was due from Ole Miss, per the terms of his contract, and LSU said it would honor it in his deal with the Tigers. The school included “ancillary benefits” in Kiffin’s agreement after his high-profile departure from Ole Miss. It could’ve gone up to $1 million if Ole Miss ended up winning the title.

More on Ole Miss, loss to Miami in Fiesta Bowl

Moreover, Ole Miss trailed Miami 17-13 at halftime of the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, but mounted a charge in the fourth quarter. The Rebels were able to capitalize on multiple Hurricanes miscues and took their first lead of the game, 19-17, with seven minutes to play.

Miami responded with a touchdown from Malachi Toney, but Ole Miss punched back. After a pass interference penalty extended the drive, Trinidad Chambliss hit Dae’Quan Wright for a touchdown and got the two-point conversion to make it a 27-24 Rebels lead with 3:13 to go.

The Hurricanes didn’t go down easily, though. Carson Beck ran in the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left to make it a 31-27 Miami lead, giving Ole Miss one more shot. But Chambliss’ final Hail Mary fell short, sealing the Hurricanes’ victory and sending the program to the national title game.

However, Miami won’t have to go far for the championship game. The game will be at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19. The Hurricanes now wait to find out if they will play Oregon or Indiana.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.